Color, the ink, not the word
The word BLUE is written in red, so tap red. Reading is automatic, so your brain wants to answer blue. Overriding that pull is the Stroop effect, described by John Ridley Stroop in 1935 (Stroop, 1935).
- Interference control
- Selective attention
Play it live
Say the color, not the word.
Tap the color of the ink, not the color the word names. As many as you can in 20 seconds.
Keys 1 to 4 work too
What it asks of you
Color asks for interference control, answering the right feature while another one shouts louder. Reading wins by default, and the game asks you to pick the ink instead, again and again, at speed.
It is focus under distraction, turned into a 20 second round.
How to play
- A color word appears, written in an ink of another color.
- Tap the swatch that matches the ink, not the word. Keys 1 to 4 work too.
- The next word comes at once.
- As many as you can in 20 seconds. Each error takes one point back.
- Color blind mode swaps inks for positions, you answer where the word is, not what it says.
The research behind it
Stroop showed in 1935 that naming the ink of a conflicting color word takes longer than naming a plain patch of color (Stroop, 1935). That gap, the Stroop effect, is the price of an automatic habit, and Color asks you to pay it fast.
Practice on this exact task makes you quicker and more accurate at it (Simons et al., 2016). That is the deal of Color, one precise task, played in short daily rounds.
On your weekly card
Color feeds your Focus stat. It takes turns with Go/no-go in the focus slot of the morning routine.
On Sunday the focus games of your week become one figure from 1 to 99 on your card.
Questions
Why is it so hard?
Because you read faster than you name colors. The word arrives first and has to be pushed aside. The guide on the Stroop effect explains why.
I am color blind, can I play?
Yes, turn on color blind mode before you start and the game then uses positions and direction words instead of inks.
How is the score counted?
Right answers in 20 seconds, minus errors. Accuracy matters as much as speed. The Stroop test page has the full format.
Sources
- Stroop J.R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology 18(6), 643 to 662. doi.org/10.1037/h0054651
- Simons D.J., Boot W.R., Charness N. et al. (2016). Do brain training programs work? Psychological Science in the Public Interest 17(3), 103 to 186. doi.org/10.1177/1529100616661983
Play next
Headgame
Your full card, every Sunday.
Three 20 second games each morning, phone down sessions, and a card with six stats revealed every Sunday. Coming soon to the App Store, Google Play next.
Join the waitlist